English Paper Piecing: Day 2
I enjoyed trying out the English paper piecing technique so much that I had to do some more. So, last night I sat down and finished the block I started. I then got out my other Paper Pieces Dresden plate templates to attempt it. I purchased them at the same time I did my hexagon pieces at the Paducah quilt show. They have all been in my to do stack for ummm….about 10 years. Yikes, time flies fast and my stash of stuff grows ever larger. I guess it is about time to use some of my stuff up. I need an excuse to buy more…well, not really.
Anyway, I got 3 sections of the Dresden motif together before deciding to call it a night. The biggest difference doing this block compared to the hexagon is that you actually have to baste the fabric to the paper piece except for the curved edge. The curved area is basted along its edge and then gathered around the template. Unlike the method for the hexagon as shown in Sunshine’s Creations tutorial, the long edge of the Dresden piece is too long to not secure it to the paper which means this will probably take just a bit longer since I will have to take out the basting once the block is completed. But look at my sample, the 3 pieces lay so nice and flat with crisp edges. I wish I had more time to finish it. Maybe this weekend.
quilting, DIY, templates, quilt, dresden
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June 6th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Actually you don’t have to bast through the paper with this technique either. The way you do that is by basting the two long sides to each other. instead of straight down. Start at the narrowest part of the piece. Do through the fabric on one side go across to the other side of fabric and take a stitch and pull these two sides together a sort of zig zag up the back of the piece. as you near the curve you stop the zig zag and just do a gathering stitch then come back down the other side tword the zig zag do one more zig zag and weave in tails and knot if needed or just do a few back stitches. If you don’t understand let me know and I will see if I can explain a little better for you. But going through the paper is always real slow and usually not needed no matter what the instructions say that came with your paper pieces.
July 11th, 2007 at 6:55 am
[...] have finished 4 more blocks to go with the very first one I made. I am really enjoying doing the English paper piecing technique and the fabrics I’ve chosen [...]